The contribution of dry deposited ammonia and sulphur dioxide to the composition of precipitation from continuously open gauges

A series of experiments using bulk precipitation collectors of the type used in the UK precipitation chemistry network measured the amounts of NH₄⁺, SO₄²⁻ and other ions that could be washed from funnels (diameter 15 cm) exposed to a wide range of NH₃ and SO₂ concentrations over periods from hours to days. In dry conditions, the average deposition flux of NH₃ was between 50 and 120 nmol NH₄⁺ funnel⁻¹ d⁻¹ (0.1–0.3 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹), and was independent of the concentration of NH₃. Dry deposition of NH₃ to wet funnels at small NH₃ concentrations was almost 5 times that to dry funnels under the same conditions (average 240 nmol funnel⁻¹ d⁻¹; 0.7 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹), and increased with increasing NH₃ concentrations. The amount of NH₄⁺ ions remaining on the funnel surface was inversely proportional to the vapour pressure deficit during the experiment. This result was interpreted as a dependence on the duration of surface wetness, with greater deposition of NH₄⁺ when evaporation rates of surface water were small.The amount of SO₂ deposited on funnel surfaces was closely related to the amount of NH₃ deposited, in both wet and dry conditions, but was not strongly correlated with the SO₂ concentration. At low NH₃ and SO₂ concentrations the average deposition to dry funnels was 70 nmol SO₄²⁻ funnel⁻¹ d⁻¹ (0.5 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹), and to wet funnels was approximately 2.5 times larger. The results are interpreted in terms of the balance between the rate of evaporation of surface water, and the rate of oxidation of SO₂, which leads to the ‘fixing’ of NH₄⁺ ions on the surface as involatile salts.It is predicted that dry deposition of NH₃ to funnel surfaces across the UK Secondary Network could account for as much as one-half of the measured bulk wet deposition at sites where wet deposition of NH₄–N is small. The amount of dry deposition depends on how long and how often funnel surfaces are wetted by rain or dew, and on the air concentrations of NH₃. These predictions are based on funnels being wetted only once per day. More frequent wetting would increase the contribution from dry deposition, and the consequent overestimate of wet deposition of NH₄–N across the UK by using data obtained from bulk collectors. To some extent this overestimate may be offset by microbial degradation and loss of NH₄–N in weekly bulk precipitation samples during collection and storage.     

Interactions between Sediment and Water: Perspectives on the 10th International Association for Sediment Water Science Symposium

The 10^th International Symposium on Interactions Between Sediment and Water was held in Lake Bled, Slovenia from August 28 to September 3, 2005. Approximately 155 delegates, attended the symposium where talks and posters addressed five themes incorporating the physical, chemical, biological, and/or management aspects of lacustrine, reverine, estuarine, and/or marine sediment were presented. A review of the symposium themes and plenary talks was provided. As well, this symposiums’ focus is put into context with respect to historical changes noted over the 29 years that the International Association for Sediment Water Science (IASWS) has been meeting.     

Counselling following a diagnosis of congenital heart disease

Counselling the parents following a diagnosis of fetal congenital heart disease (CHD) is as important a task for the fetal cardiologist, as the skill involved in achieving an accurate diagnosis. The counsellor will base prognosis not only on the diagnosis itself but also on the security of diagnosis, the stage in gestation and potential for change, the association with extracardiac malformations and the known results of treatment. Depending on the gestational age and legal situation the counsellor is operating in, termination of pregnancy may be one of the options to consider and one that should always be raised in discussion. Thus, the parents may be in the position of making a crucial decision concerning the management of the pregnancy on the basis of the information received, so it is vital that the counsellor is truly able to communicate with them, whatever be their level of understanding. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tradable permits without legislative targets: a review of the potential for a permit scheme for sterilized clinical waste in the UK.

Tradable-permit schemes are becoming an increasingly popular technique for encouraging materials recovery and the diversion of waste from landfill. Such schemes operate using various forms of market-based trading of waste permits between polluters but usually rely on mandatory recycling targets to provide an incentive for trading. Using the UK's Packaging Recovery Note (PRN) scheme as a template, this paper examines the potential for permit trading where mandatory targets are absent and schemes must be driven solely by the financial benefits of reduced landfill costs and permit/material sales. The case examined is sterilized clinical waste, which has considerable recycling potential but suffers from health concerns and a poor public image. Interviews with healthcare and waste-management representatives indicate that although elements of the PRN scheme might prove appropriate for encouraging materials recovery, the absence of government targets and uncertain end markets for sterilized clinical waste present major obstacles to trading. Alternative incentives would therefore be required to catalyse schemes and develop recycling infrastructure. In the final analysis, thermal processing may be a more practical alternative to landfill than materials recovery for this particular waste stream.     

The Axford Debate Revisited: A Case Study Illustrating Different Approaches to the Aggregation of Benefits Data

Recent debate following the rejection of the Environment Agency case regarding an application for water abstraction at Axford on the River Kennet has focused upon the benefits procedure employed for aggregating non-user benefits which underpinned the economic case put forward by the Agency (although this was not the reason cited by the inquiry for rejection of the case). Commentators have seen this case as setting an unfortunate precedent for the use of economic assessments in such resource management issues. The paper presents a number of highly tractable alternative methods for the aggregation of benefits estimates designed to address the central problems of the definition of a relevant aggregation population and a potential decay of values with increasing distance from a given valuation site. These methods are tested using data obtained from a national survey of non-users of a specific natural area. Results from this application indicate that simpler approaches such as that used at the Axford inquiry may result in aggregate benefits estimates which are very substantially larger than those produced by our proposed alternative approaches to aggregation.     

Effect of arsenic contaminated irrigation water on Lens culinaris L. and toxicity assessment using lux marked biosensor

Contamination of irrigation water represents a major constraint to Bangladesh agriculture, resulting in elevated levels in the terrestrial systems. Lux bacterial biosensor technology has previously been used to measure the toxicity of metals in various environmental matrices. While arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi have their most significant effect on phosphorus uptake, but showed alleviated metal toxicity to the host plant. The study examined the effects of arsenic and inoculation with an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus, Glomus mosseae, on lentil (Lens culinaris L. cv. Titore). Plants were grown with and without arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculum for 9 weeks in a sand and terra-green mixture (50:50, V/V) and watered with five levels of arsenic (0, 1, 2, 5, 10 mg As/L arsenate). The results showed that arsenic addition above 1 mg/L significantly reduced percentage of mycorrhizal root infection. On further analysis a close relationship was established with the vegetative and reproductive properties of lentil (L. culinaris) plants compared to the percentage bioluminescence of the soil leachate. However, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal inoculation reduced arsenic concentration in roots and shoots. Higher concentrations of arsenic (5, 10 mg As/L arsenate) reduced the mycorrhizal efficiency to increase phosphorus content and nitrogen fixation. Therefore, this study showed that increased concentration of arsenic in irrigation water had direct implications to the lentil (L. culinaris) plants overall performance. Moreover the use of bioassay demonstrated that mycorrhiza and clay particle reduced arsenic bioavailability in soil.     

Development and initial validation of an Aviation Safety Climate Scale

PROBLEM: A need was identified for a consistent set of safety climate factors to provide a basis for aviation industry benchmarking. METHOD: Six broad safety climate themes were identified from the literature and consultations with industry safety experts. Items representing each of the themes were prepared and administered to 940 Australian commercial pilots. RESULTS: Data from half of the sample (N=468) were used in an exploratory factor analysis that produced a 3-factor model of Management commitment and communication, Safety training and equipment, and Maintenance. A confirmatory factor analysis on the remaining half of the sample showed the 3-factor model to be an adequate fit to the data. DISCUSSION: The results of this study have produced a scale of safety climate for aviation that is both reliable and valid. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: This study developed a tool to assess the level of perceived safety climate, specifically of pilots, but may also, with minor modifications, be used to assess other groups' perceptions of safety climate.